I had my second book published last December. The title is Reporting for Duty: My Urgency for Justice and Peace published by Resource Publications, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers in Eugene, Oregon.
The memoir describes actions I have taken taken in my life to promote justice and peace with respect to America's foreign and domestic policies. But it is more than a memoir; it also includes background for, and analysis of, the peace and justice issues involved. As I say in the book: "I love my country deeply, and so I want it to live up to its promise of brotherhood, truth, and fairness, and to commit to being a peaceful neighbor among the community of nations."
As detailed in Reporting for Duty, my life has been one adventure after another as I undertook actions for justice and peace--for example, when I participated in part of the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 and when I was in a peace group that was kidnapped by the Contras in Costa Rica in 1985. The book emphasizes that peace work doesn't stop with peace conferences or praying for peace. It is facing the often official distortions that justify wars and finding the most effective ways to bring out the truth and make peace. My primary intent in writing the book is to encourage people everywhere to invest themselves in justice and peace initiatives in their own countries.
In the book, I discuss in some detail the Sandinista government in Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990 and from 2007 to the present. Based on a research of documents from all sides, I reach conclusions about the present government there. I discuss the bloody conflicts that took place from April through August 2018 in Nicaragua. In the end I conclude that the opinions of the U.S. and Western media and governments about the conflicts are little more than propaganda generated from our State Department. The allegation that the National Police caused essentially all the deaths and injuries during that time is wrong. The evidence indicates that the protestors were armed and launched the vast majority of the attacks and it was the police and supporters of the Sandinista party who were more victims than the protestors.
I have divided the book into three sections: Slavery and Civil Rights, Nicaragua Connection, and actions I undertook In My Older Years. Under Slavery and Civil Rights, the central theme is the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, including a narrative about how 35 of us from northern California, chartered a bus, drove there, and joined the march. I give the background to the march and discuss the short- and long-term results. I also include a discussion on the impact of slavery on black families now. Also, in this section, I briefly discuss Martin Luther King's opposition to the war in Vietnam and his assassination.
In the section entitled Nicaragua Connection I discuss U.S. policy and actions with respect to Nicaragua and my connections to the country. The section is a bit long in my attempt to untangle the official U.S. untruths about the Sandinista government. I confirm Nicaraguans' right to choose a path different from what my own country, the United States, has imposed since 1909 on this small country of 6.7 million people. What I describe in detail about Nicaragua is just one example of how U.S. policies toward Latin American nations have consistently displayed a ruthless insistence of our dominance over them and a total disregard for the wishes of the citizens of these countries. If any government south of the border chooses to adopt left-leaning social programs, our State Department tends to go on the attack and label the country as "socialist" or a "corrupt dictatorship."
Under the section "In My Older Years," there are chapters on my brief experiences in El Salvador and Guatemala, my role in starting and helping to lead the mid-Atlantic region of Witness for Peace from 1994 to 2013, and finally, my writing numerous op-eds and letters to the editor on justice and peace issues.
The book's available either from the publisher or from Amazon as a paperback or a kindle version. My website tells more about the book and how to order it: https://www.andrewmillsbooks.com
I am a retired groundwater hydrologist/programmer. I have worked for several environmental engineering firms as a groundwater hydrologist from 1972 to 2011. From 2014 to 2019 I served as a part-time computer programmer.
I view the world as belonging to the Lord and that each of us has been put on earth to care for one another and to be good stewards of our planet. Because of this, much of my spare time has been filled with activities aimed at lifting up vulnerable people and trying to prevent or stop violence and wars against all people.
